Four young officers were heading to the ship's bridge. At that moment, they were riding in the turbolift.
"Listen, why were we called?" O'Connor asked.
"I have an idea," Cerri said, nodding to himself. "But whether it's accurate is another question."
"Mirro, admit it—you screwed up again?" Grace asked.
"No, no, no, it wasn't me," the midshipman protested, waving his hands. "Is it always me? Maybe it was Sumeragi?"
"That's basically impossible. But you are a master at getting into trouble," Lichtendal replied.
"Traitor," the man hissed. "Heartless bastard."
"We've heard that before."
"Cut the chatter," Li Noriega ordered. "We're here."
She was the first to step through the opening doors. The others followed close behind. Captain Ragnos and General Vikt were already waiting for them in the main hall of the bridge, located just behind the command area.
"Sir, did you call for us?"
"Yes. Time is of the essence, so let's skip the formalities."
The Jedi stepped toward the line of officers and handed something to Ensign Mirro.
"Congratulations, Ensign. You are now a Second Lieutenant and the corps' communicationsofficer."
"Sir…" Christen took the new rank insignia from the Jedi's hands, looking confused.
"O'Connor, I am also promoting you to Second Lieutenant. You are now officially the commanderof the corvette Isaribi."
"Thank you, sir!" The Zeltron smiled, delighted by the unexpected promotion.
"Now, about you. Li Noriega—your new rank is First Lieutenant. You are hereby appointed Chief of Staff of the corps."
"Sir, I—"
"No need for unnecessary words, Sumeragi. Prove with your actions that you're worthy of your new rank."
Vikt turned to Cerri.
"And you, Lichtendal, are promoted to First Lieutenant. I appoint you commander of the Akagi."
"Yes, sir!" The Antoan saluted, clutching his new insignia tightly.
At that moment, one of the OOM-series B1 droids approached the general. As the young officers already knew, it was one of two droid aides and messengers assigned to the Jedi.
"General," the droid's vocoder emitted in an emotionless tone, "the droid squads have been distributed among the ships."
"Excellent," the Jedi nodded. Then, turning back to the young officers, he smiled.
"You are dismissed, ladies and gentlemen!"
The four left the bridge. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Mirro broke into a little victory dance, while Grace threw her arms around Sumeragi's neck. Sumeragi just smiled happily in response, perfectly understanding her friend's excitement.
***
Having dealt with her accumulated business, Chuchi—remembering her oversight—decided to thank the Jedi for dispatching the ships. She waited patiently for a response to her request, and finally, the holoprojector flickered to life. The small figure of the Jedi appeared before her.
"Senator Chuchi. How can I help you?"
"Knight Vikt, I wanted to thank you for the assistance you gave Pantora. I didn't expect such a quick response."
"Don't mention it, Senator. It's my duty as a Jedi—and as a person." The Jedi bowed slightly. "And please, call me Mikore. I'm not much older than you, Senator Chuchi, and all this 'Knight' business is painfully formal—we're not in the Senate, after all."
The Pantoran was a little flustered, but her long-standing habit of decorum prevailed.
"I think I'll accept your offer, Mikore. But then you must call me Riyo." She blushed slightly. "When will you be on Coruscant? I'd like to thank you in person."
"That's the problem," the Jedi said, spreading his hands. "For the next… two months or so, I'm unlikely to be anywhere near Coruscant."
"That's sad to hear. May I ask what you'll be doing?"
"I'm afraid that's a military secret for now. But you'll hear about us soon."
"Some dangerous mission for the Order?"
"Not exactly, but you're not far off, Riyo. As for danger—no one's yet invented a safe way to wage war."
"Good luck, Mikore. But I still hope to see you again."
The Jedi responded with a silent nod. The hologram faded. Riyo walked over to the tall, narrow window of her office on the top floor of her residence. She couldn't quite understand what had made her so uneasy. Was it really because the Jedi had asked her to call him by name? Could her composure have cracked over such a trivial thing? No—nonsense. Or…
The realization struck her: it wasn't what he had said that unsettled her—it was him.
But… why? Riyo couldn't understand it.
Still, when he called her Riyo, something had stirred in her heart.
***
Count Dooku knelt.
"My lord?"
"I am dissatisfied, my apprentice. The situation on Jabiim is slipping out of your control. This is a violation of the balance of power—and it could lead to disaster."
"My lord, I will address this matter immediately. However, it will be difficult to influence the Separatist leadership—they simply will not understand me. But I will do my utmost to resolve the issue."
"I sincerely hope so."
***
A small, high-speed ship entered orbit over Lantilles. In essence, it was little more than a powerful Class-9 hyperdrive, with a pair of sublight engines, a small cargo bay, and a cockpit attached. Ships of this type were typically used as couriers or for transporting perishable cargo. Now, however, this one was rushing toward the headquarters of the Twelfth Sector—carrying not just special freight, but several passengers.
"Seventeen, what do you think—does General Vikt strike you as a competent commander?" asked Alpha Thirteen, slinging a large backpack over his shoulder and adjusting the DC-17m grenadelauncher hanging on his chest.
"I thought the Jedi would be better prepared for war, but I've been disappointed," replied Seventeen, running a hand along the reinforced blaster variant of the special forces weapon. "The Force and all that is cool, sure—but if they don't have brains, it won't help them much. You read the reports—they're dying by the handful every day."
"However, General Ti spoke quite highly of this Jedi," interjected Alpha Fourteen, who was carefully carrying a case containing the sniper configuration of the interchangeable weaponsystem.
"We'll see what he's good for."
"They say Jabiim is quite a place. I read the brief—it's nearly impossible to fly in the atmospherebecause of the ion storms."
"Who cares about the weather? We were trained to fight in all conditions."
The trio finally left the transport's hold. A vast launch area stretched out before them. Three Acclamators and several corvettes stood nearby, their ramps lowered as streams of equipment and orderly rows of clones were being loaded aboard.
"Looks like that's our destination, boys."
After walking about a hundred steps, they stopped a passing clone trooper.
"Soldier, are you part of General Vikt's forces?" Alpha Seventeen asked, noticing the unusual color of the clone's armor and the emblem on his shoulder.
"Yes. Are you joining us?"
"Yes. Straight from Coruscant. Where can we find the general?"
"The first ship on the left—ask there."
"Well then, let's move," Alpha Thirteen said with a nod.